I decided to look at Peter Campus’ video of three transitions. I’ve actually seen this video before and even though the second transition, the one where he is sort of rubbing off his face, is simple it is still one of my favorites. “Three transitions” was created in 1973 in which Campus transforms and alters his body in three different individual segments. He overlaps images and reflections to convey meaning in his pieces. Campus experiments with blue screen technology in which Campus is breaking through his own body (almost literally in the second one, in which his own face bleeds through the old one). Although these “transitions” are certainly interesting, there is nothing really inherently special or pretty about any of these. I actually saw them exactly in order at the exhibit and I was very confused by the first piece, it seems like he is progressing through a wall and back through it again but it is quite disorienting. These short film pieces are more as if Campus is experimenting, however they do explore some very interesting ideas. I like the last one as well in which he burns a piece of paper with his face reflected on it, it is interesting to see the distortion and disappearance. It’s as if he is burning away a piece of himself or his soul, part of him is dying. Obviously there is a much deeper meaning to all these. Although a lot of these transitions were probably very impressive for the time they were created.
